Andy Holding's Saturday Racing Tips

TERRA ROSSA (best price 5-1) shaped with an immense amount of promise in a similar race to today’s on his debut at Navan 16 days ago and with just normal improvement he should go very close to shedding his maiden tag on the final day of the Irish Flat season.

On a day on the Co Meath venue when it paid to be drawn high, stall two meant Andrew Oliver’s gelding was already behind the eight ball, and then just a to compound matters, a very slow start resulted in him being a million after only a few hundred yards. To end up finishing a creditable third in a strongly-run affair, therefore, has to go down as a pretty serious effort and with there being a fair chance of the field migrating down the middle of the track to look for the better ground, a decent break from stall nine should see the son of Showcasing competitive at the business end.

As is always the case, a fine field assembled for the Birdcatcher Nursery and despite being one of the most exposed members of the cast, THE BLUE PANTHER (best price 8-1) has enough quality in his game to make his presence felt.

Although he’s only managed to score once in ten starts, he’s been a victim of circumstance many times and you only have to go back at look at his effort when seventh in the Ballyhane Stakes over today’s C&D back in August to recognise his plight. On a day when there was a massive high draw bias, his position in stall two did him absolutely no favours, but to his great credit he still managed to finish relatively close-up despite running on the swamp for the whole six-furlong journey. Similarly, over the round track here last time, he also faced an impossible task turning for home with just one behind him, so to stay on the way he did to finish runner-up to the hugely-progressive Ecliptical has to go down as a career-high performance. The fact he stayed so well over seven furlongs that day should stand him in good stead over today’s stiff six and with all his best form coming with plenty of give underfoot, he looks way overpriced hailing from a yard that always do well at this venue.

The Dan Skelton team are banging in the winners like there’s no tomorrow and in the shape of NORTHOFTHEWALL (NAP) (best price 5-2), the Warwickshire handler has a great chance of bagging another notable success.

A three-time winner over hurdles last season and a creditable sixth in the competitive Lanzarote Hurdle, the son of Mahler, however, has always had the look of a chaser and that viewpoint was backed up by his creditable effort on his debut over the larger obstacles at Uttoxeter 22 days ago. Strongly supported despite being off the track for 228-days, the six-year-old loomed up going well approaching the straight but a couple of scruffy jumps just as he was coming under maximum pressure put paid to his finishing effort and he could only keep on at the one-pace in fourth. That said, the numbers of the main players at the Midland venue very much pointed towards the race being an extremely strong one of its kind and with the runner-up, Morning Oscar, already paying it a handsome complement when bolting up at Newbury in midweek, Northofthewall can also do his bit for the form in this much weaker-looking event.

Some classy mares take to the floor for this open-looking handicap and even though she might not end up the best of these as we work our way through the season, PERFECT MYTH (best price 12-1) might be capable of pressing home her fitness advantage and run a good deal better than her position in the market implies.

Steadily creeping up the ratings after starting life at a fairly low level, you only have to look at the race she won at Market Rasen two outings ago to see how far she’s come in such a short space of time and she thoroughly deserves to be rubbing shoulders with some of the bigger names in this division. For instance, both Aggy With It and Miss Hyde have both gone on to score since – the latter in listed company twice - and having herself gone forwards in an upward trajectory since, Neil King’s admirable mare should find this test against a better class of horse and a likely stronger pace right up her street.

Paul Nicholls has absolutely dominated this early-season staying handicap chase in the past two decades, winning it no fewer than ten times, and he looks to have another strong hand in this year’s renewal, sending previous winner Present Man, the much-talked-about Danny Wizzbang and MY WAY (best price 6-1) to post.

The latter might lack a bit of experience over fences but he’s very much unexposed over today’s trip and on many occasions he’s looked for all the world as though he’s been crying out for further. Since undergoing wind surgery, the six-year-old has run with credit in several competitive handicap chases, none more so than his fine second at Ascot last season, and following a run over hurdles the other day which should have put a nice edge on his fitness, he should make a bold bid down the foot of the weights with the excellent Bryan Carver on board.

Given his record in this race over the years (won in seven times since 2002), it doesn’t take a genius to work out that anything trained by Aidan O’Brien has to be the main focus of attention in this 1m4f contest on the turf and of his pair of big player in this season’s renewal, MOGUL (best price 4-1) makes the most appeal at the morning line odds.

A top-class colt at two, it has to be said he’s been a bit of slow burn as a three-year-old and after a modest run first time out, he went on to disappoint many of his supporters in the big one itself, The Derby. Since then, however, he has begun to turn the corner and show all the qualities he did as a juvenile and his latest victory in the Grand Prix De Paris at Longchamp underlined just how good he can be when on-song. In what turned out to be a strongly-run affair at the Paris-based venue (much the quickest of the three trials that day including the one won by Tarnawa), the son of Galileo stayed on very powerfully in the closing stages to put daylight between himself and the rest of a stellar field, and with the runner-up, In Swoop, going on to frank the form in the Arc next time, it was a shame, therefore, that we didn’t get the chance to see him back at the same track a month later to have a crack at the big one itself due to a feed fiasco. However, that debacle might turn out to be a blessing in disguise as he arrives in America a fresh horse – unlike Magical and Tarnawa who both had hard races on heavy ground next time – and with his winning pilot, Pierre-Charles Boudot reunited in the saddle, this big, powerful galloper can ride off into the sunset with his second Grade 1 under his belt.